Headline Writer

On December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin read simply, “War!” And on September 12, 2001, the day after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the front page of the Washington Times proclaimed in all capital letters, “INFAMY.”

In newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals, headlines at the top of a cover, page, or article offer an at-a-glance look at the news. In a split second, they communicate both facts and feelings. Even though they’re often quite simple, therefore, the truth is: A good headline is really, really hard to write.

Still, you write them every day when you’re a Headline Writer. Usually employed in a newsroom, you spend your days reading content and writing headlines for it, keeping in mind that the best headlines are not only short — you typically must fit headlines into very tight spaces, which limits the number of words and characters you can use — but also informative and evocative, designed to both communicate the news and, ultimately, sell it.

In the heyday of newspapers, writing amazing headlines is probably all that a Headline Writer did. Today, however, a Headline Writer is most likely a Copyeditor, too, charged with proofreading articles for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Or, if you work online, there’s a good chance you’re actually an SEO Consultant, in which case you spend your days writing headlines — as well as articles and metadata — utilizing search engine optimization techniques that help your publication increase its exposure online. (After all, today’s headlines aren’t read; they’re searched!)